"The Farewell" Summary

When evening falls, Almitra blesses the day, the place and Almustafa's words, but Almustafa claims he has also been a listener. He descends from the temple with the people following and reaches his ship. From the deck, he tells the people that the wind bids him to leave, and he must go. Wanderers seek the lonelier way, never ending a day where they begin it. They travel while the earth sleeps. They are seeds of a tenacious plant that the wind scatters. Almustafa's days in Orphalese have been brief, and the words he has spoken briefer still. He promises to come on the tide with richer heart and lips. Death may hide him, but from the silence, he will seek their understanding. Truth will reveal itself more clearly in words more akin to their thoughts. Almustafa will go with...